Special to Iredell Free News
The City of Statesville has formed a partnership with Retail Strategies, a national retail recruitment firm, to help expand retail development in Statesville.
The project involves conducting a detailed analysis of the city’s retail market, creating a strategic plan for recruiting new business and growing existing businesses, and then proactively reaching out to potential businesses and developers.
This development project “is for all of Statesville,” explained City Manager Ron Smith. “That’s one of the reasons we are very excited about this partnership. It will not focus on one area of town or one type of business. Retail Strategies is being tasked with giving us a holistic economic plan to grow Statesville.”
The Retail Strategies team will work hand in hand with city leaders to help them understand the market and highlight opportunities for infill. Additionally, the team at Retail Strategies will initiate contact with potential businesses, property owners, brokers, and developers on behalf of the city.
“We’ve never done anything like this for our businesses,” said Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh. “It’s more than a market study to see what gaps we have in retail. It will be an economic development tool for our whole City. Retail Strategies will take the information they gather and begin using it right away.”
City officials have agreed to a three-year contract with Retail Strategies. Thanks to a matching grant from ElectriCities, the not-for-profit membership organization of municipally electric utilities, the city’s cost is $20,000 for the first year, $12,500 for the second year and $12,500 for the third year.
According to Smith, Retail Strategies has an excellent reputation for bringing in businesses and developments that complement growing cities.
“They will be able to give us a clearer picture of our market and opportunities for infill. They will offer us access to a wide database of resources that would otherwise not be available to a city our size,” he said.
Marin Tomlin, executive director for Downtown Statesville Development Organization, called the project “an exciting proactive step” toward expanding commercial retail development and recruiting national franchises.
“Having an up-to-date market analysis is a critical starting point for this process and will be of benefit for downtown development as well,” Tomlin said.
ABOUT RETAIL STRATEGIES
Retail Strategies is a leading national advisory firm focused on retail market analysis, strategic planning, retail recruitment and development. Its mission is to provide the real estate expertise, tools and human effort that position deserving towns as alluring locations for national businesses. With confidence, Retail Strategies pursues this mission by delivering unparalleled customer service as a unified team with unmatched real estate expertise. Its activities pay a return in sales taxes, added jobs, and businesses that enhance and add to the unique qualities of your community.